[Includes 2 tables, 14 charts, 33 maps and 89 illustrations] In the capture of the southern Marianas during the summer of 1944, Army ground and air forces played an important, though subordinate, role to that of the Navy and its Marine Corps. Marine personnel constituted the bulk of the combat troops employed. The objective of this campaign was "to secure control of sea communications through the Central Pacific by isolating and neutralizing the Carolines and by the establishment of sea and air bases for operations against Japanese sea routes and long-range air attacks against the Japanese home land." Its success would provide steppingstones from which the Americans could threaten further attack westward toward the Philippines, Formosa, and Japan itself, and would gain bases from which the Army Air Forces’ new very long range bombers, the B-29’s, could strike at Japan’s heartland. Recognizing and accepting the challenge, the Japanese Navy suffered heavy and irreplaceable losses in the accompanying Battle of the Philippine Sea; and the islands after capture became the base for all the massive air attacks on Japan, beginning in Nov. 1944. In the operations described in the present volume, landings against strong opposition demonstrated the soundness of the amphibious doctrine and techniques evolved out of hard experience in preceding Pacific operations. Bitter inland fighting followed the landings, with Army and Marine Corps divisions engaged side by side. The author’s account and corresponding Marine Corps histories of these operations provide ample opportunity to study the differences in the fighting techniques of the two services. Dr. Crowl also deals frankly with one of the best-known controversies of World War II, that of Smith versus Smith, but concludes that it was the exception to generally excellent interservice co-operation.

This book is an archaeological study of the cultures of conflict through an examination of caves and tunnels used during the Pacific War. Referred to here as “karst defenses,” WWII caves and tunnels can be found throughout the karst landscapes of the Pacific. Karst defenses have been hidden, literally by the jungle and figuratively by history, for over 70 years. Based on a study of karst defenses and their related artifacts and oral histories in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, this book uses karst defenses to investigate the varied human experiences before, during and after the Pacific War. Historically, the book reveals new knowledge about the overall defense strategies used in the Pacific. Karst defenses were a central component of Pacific War defense and were constructed and used by civilians, the Japanese military and U.S. troops as early as 1942. Karst defenses also functioned as command posts, hospitals, shelters, storage units and combat positions. The book sheds light on the social aspects that influenced the construction and use of karst defenses, including the fragmented relationship between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Imperial Japanese Army, the social status of civilians under Japanese rule and the clandestine plans of the U.S. in Micronesia. The book also discusses the complex contemporary meanings of this dark, shared heritage.

This book focuses on the key naval strategic objectives of obtaining and maintaining sea control. During times of war, sea control, or the ability of combatants to enjoy naval dominance, plays a crucial role in that side’s ability to attain overall victory. This book explains and analyzes in much greater detail sea control in all its complexities, and describes the main methods of obtaining and maintaining it. Building on the views of naval classical thinkers, this book utilizes historical examples to illustrate the main methods of sea control. Each chapter focuses on a particular method, including destroying the enemy forces by a decisive action, destroying enemy forces over time-attrition, containing enemy fleet, choke point control, and capturing important enemy's positions/basing area, The aim is to provide a comprehensive theory and practice of the struggle for sea control at the operational level. It should therefore provide a guide to practitioners on how to plan and conduct operational warfare at sea. The book will be of much interest to students of naval strategy, defence studies and security studies.

By January 1944 the US Marine Corps had grown to a total of 405,169 personnel, comprising 28,193 officers, 10,723 officer candidates, and 366,353 enlisted men. The Fleet Marine Force now had two amphibious corps, four divisions, a separate infantry regiment, 19 defense battalions, and numerous support and service units. Following on from Battle Orders 1: USMC in the Pacific Theater of Operations 1941–43, this book examines the continuing development of the Corps's organization, its training, tactics, weaponry, and command structure, as well as the battles fought in the Southwest Pacific on New Britain, and in the Central Pacific on Tarawa, Roi-Namur, Eniwetok, Saipan, and Tinian. The organization of the 4th Marine Division (MarDiv) and III and V Amphibious Corps (IIIAC, VAC) is also discussed along with smaller, new units.

With more than 1,700 cross-referenced entries covering every aspect of World War II, the events and developments of the era, and myriad related subjects as well as a documents volume, this is the most comprehensive reference work available on the war. This encyclopedia represents a single source of authoritative information on World War II that provides accessible coverage of the causes, course, and consequences of the war. Its introductory overview essays and cross-referenced A–Z entries explain how various sources of friction culminated in a second worldwide conflict, document the events of the war and why individual battles were won and lost, and identify numerous ways the war has permanently changed the world. The coverage addresses the individuals, campaigns, battles, key weapons systems, strategic decisions, and technological developments of the conflict, as well as the diplomatic, economic, and cultural aspects of World War II. The five-volume set provides comprehensive information that gives readers insight into the reasons for the war's direction and outcome. Readers will understand the motivations behind Japan's decision to attack the United States, appreciate how the concentration of German military resources on the Eastern Front affected the war's outcome, understand the major strategic decisions of the war and the factors behind them, grasp how the Second Sino-Japanese War contributed to the start of World War II, and see the direct impact of new military technology on the outcomes of the battles during the conflict. The lengthy documents volume represents a valuable repository of additional information for student research.

Bloodstained Sands tells the untold story of the men who stormed beaches around the globe during World War II, from the Sword and Juno Beaches on D-Day to the sands of Iwo Jima. For the men who served in America's Amphibious Forces during World War II, the conflict was an unceasing series of D-Days. They were responsible for putting men ashore in more than 200 landings throughout the conflict, most against well-entrenched enemy positions. Bloodstained Sands: US Amphibious Operations in World War II tells the story of these forgotten men for the first time, tracing their operational history from Guadalcanal to Casablanca, Sicily, Normandy, Iwo Jima and finally Okinawa. The men's stories are told in their own voices, with fascinating accounts from Underwater Demolition Teams, Attack Transport crews and many other unsung heroes of World War II. First-hand interviews, entries from personal diaries and Action Reports create a unique history, perfectly complemented by historic illustrations and detailed maps. These are timeless tales of determination, sacrifice, and triumph of the human spirit - tales of US Amphibious Forces that for too long have gone forgotten and untold.